A Modern Day Cassandra
by Mardia
Summary: Chapter Four up. Yeah, this is one of those Ginny's-having-visions stories, but I like to think it's a little different.
1. The Weasley Boys, explained by Ginny Wea...

1 A Modern-Day Cassandra  
  
Summary: Ginny thinks about the difference between her brothers.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Characters: Ginny  
  
Disclaimer: JK Rowling is an absolute genius. Nothing and no one you recognise belongs to me.  
  
As the oldest, Bill was the leader. No one questioned his right to be, not even Fred and George. Bill's always had this inner glow, like there would always be a spotlight on him. He's charismatic, good-looking, funny, and sweet. To this day, we tease him about the reputation he got at Hogwarts for being a heartbreaker, as the walls in the girls' bathrooms can testify to. He got good grades at Hogwarts, became Head Boy, and in short, was Mum and Dad's little angel.  
  
Then all of a sudden, he turned into the family rebel. He grew out his hair, got weird clothes, and got an fang earring. Not that I didn't like it but still, what was going on? At first, I couldn't understand it. Bill's always been the perfect one, why all of a sudden did he want to change?  
  
Then I got it. Bill hadn't turned into a rebel, he'd been a rebel all along, he'd just had to hide it because he didn't want to disappoint Mum and Dad. When he came home last summer, I finally got up the nerve to ask him if my idea was correct.  
  
He'd looked startled, then he grinned. "Sometimes I think you know all of us better than we know ourselves," he'd remarked. Charlie overheard, and agreed wholeheartedly.  
  
Charlie-he's always loved the outdoors. When I was little, I remember that it was all Mum could do was get him inside the house in time for dinner. He could never stand to see any animal in pain, and it was no surprise when his best subject turned out to be Care of Magical Creatures. He loved monsters, the more dangerous, the better as far as he was concerned.  
  
No wonder he and Hagrid got along so well.  
  
Mum has never liked the fact that Charlie loved monsters so much, and the entire family was shocked when Charlie told them that he was going to Romania to study dragons. I, however, wasn't.  
  
After Charlie broke the news to Mum and Dad, he came up to my room and tweaked my hair. "Ginny, you remember when you said that I would always be the happiest when I was surrounded by monsters? Sure you're not another Cassandra?" Charlie teased.  
  
My middle name is Cassandra, and it was a family joke that like the original Cassandra, I would make predictions, and no one would believe me. But they'd always come true. Percy was the one who noticed the unusual resemblance, and it's been a family in-joke ever since.  
  
Percy-I feel sorry for him, I really do. No one seems to understand that the reason he's such a stickler for rules is the fact that he wants to protect us. All of us. The fact that the Ministry is refusing to admit that You-Know-Who's returned has put him between a rock and a hard place. But in the end, he'll side with us. I know he will. And it's not presumption, or blind faith, or naivete. I just know.  
  
I also have a feeling that in the end, Percy'll loosen up a bit. And all the credit will have to go to Fred and George.  
  
Fred and George-Lord, it is so hard to separate those names. Sometimes, it really does seem like they are one soul within two bodies. But most of the time, I can see the difference, even if most people can't. It's a running joke that even when Mum and Dad can't tell who's who, I always could, even from the back.  
  
Fred is the impulsive one. He's the one who will get in the fights, the one who shoots off his mouth without thinking. He's also the most truthful, and sometimes I doubt whether he's even heard of a thing called tact.  
  
George is the more considerate one. He knows the difference between malice and mischief, and I know that he's stopped Fred from playing a joke that would really hurt someone's feelings. He's a little quieter than Fred, and is also less impulsive.  
  
Their absolute and complete devotion to each other is something that I have always admired. Castor and Pollux, I sometimes call them. However, Ron is the one whose birth sign is Gemini.  
  
Ron is the most complicated of them all. He's naturally kind, but he also has a red-hot temper that can blind him to the difference between justice and vengenace. He's another one that has no clue about tact, as Hermione can tell you. He used to get peeved about the fact that I could always tell when he was lying. Ron never could learn how to lie convincingly.  
  
He's a little resentful of the fact that he has so much to live up to. I'd always reassure him and tell him that he'd find that the saying 'last, but not least,' would come true in his case. It's never really bugged me as much that my brothers have done so much. One thing that he'll never be good at is hiding his feelings, especially his feelings about Hermione.  
  
A really ironic fact is that my brothers have always thought that they were protecting me, when really, I was the one who protected them.  
  
No, really.  
  
I was always the one who would solve the problems between them, the one they'd come to for advice on girls, school, and life in general. I was the one that they'd come to when they wanted someone to explain to them why girls seemed to be playing these mind games with them sometimes. And I'd always say, "Sometimes? We play mind games all the time."  
  
"O Mighty Cassandra, look into your crystal ball and tell us what the future holds." Fred and George would chant. I'd peer into their tea leaves and make outrageous predictions that would leave my brothers hysterical.  
  
Still-no matter how much my brothers would joke about 'woman's intuition', I can see things. Cassandra's story is a tragedy. It's about a girl who had no say what happened to her life and was murdered. Ever since You-Know-Who returned, I'm going to make sure my fate won't be hers.  
  
But right now, I can't think about the past or the future. All I can concentrate on is here and now. And maybe-maybe that's the way it'd ought to be. 


	2. The Yule Ball

Author's notes: I got the idea for this after Gothic Valley Girl suggested I write something from Ginny's POV about Neville. I wasn't planning to write another chapter, but this idea stayed in my mind and wouldn't leave me alone. Basically, this is the Yule Ball from Ginny's perspective. At the end, she learns something about Neville that she didn't expect…

I sighed as I looked at my dress robes. They were dark blue, and I knew I looked nice in them. 

Neville had been really nice when he asked me, and he'd agreed that we'd go just as friends. Of course, I hadn't been his first choice. 

But then again, I hadn't been Harry's either. 

I was a backup. Pure and simple.

I shook my head. _Relax, Ginny. Did you really want to go to the Ball with Harry, knowing that he would be staring at Cho the entire time?_

How did I know that would happen? Simple. I'd had a vision. 

_I was at the Yule Ball with Harry. He was staring at Cho, while I stood by his side, miserable and forgotten. _

_I tugged on his arm, spoke to him, but he wouldn't answer. He couldn't hear me. To him, I didn't exist._

When I'd snapped out of my trance, Colin was staring at me, and Professor Snape was taking ten points away from Gryffindor. 

I sighed. I couldn't figure out what that meant until Ron and Harry were talking about the Yule Ball and how they'd both been rejected. 

Oh well. It was all for the best, after all. Neville wasn't my dream date, exactly, but it'd be better than going with Malfoy or something. I shuddered. 

I took one last glance at myself, then went downstairs. 

~*~*~*~

Oh boy. Neville had warned me that he wasn't much of a dancer, but still…my feet were killing me!

We were sitting down, since my feet were on strike. The Weird Sisters-one of my favorite groups-had struck up a slow song. 

_Open your eyes_

_And see what's waiting for you right here with me._

_Open your mind_

_And realize that I'll love you 'till the end of time…_

I couldn't help it. I looked over at Harry, who was sitting in a corner talking to Ron. I wished…that Harry was standing next to me, instead of Neville. 

"You really like him, don't you?" Neville asked, following my gaze. 

I looked at him. "Pretty obvious, huh?" I blushed. Neville was my date instead of Harry. "Neville, I'm sorry I'm such a rotten date, but-"

"And I'm sorry that your feet were being tortured out there on the dance floor." Neville said ruefully.

I laughed. "You're not that bad."

He laughed too. "Yes, I am." He gestured towards the gardens. "Want to go outside for a bit? Get some air?" He grinned. "I won't step on your feet, I promise."

I burst out laughing. "All right."

~*~*~*~

We were in the gardens, talking about the teachers, Fred and George's Canary Creams, everything. I really liked Neville, and I was glad that I'd come with him after all.

Then his hand brushed mine, and-

"Frank!" A woman with Neville's blue eyes screamed. 

_A man who looked exactly like Neville yelled at her, " Get Neville and RUN!"_

_A group of masked people in cloaks grabbed the man. The figure in the lead yelled, "Crucio!"_

_The man writhed in agony. The woman, sobbing hysterically, turned to leave, but one of the Death Eaters got in the way. _

_He ripped the baby, who was wailing now, out of her arms and another one of the Death Eaters grabbed her and said cruelly, "Now, now, Mrs. Longbottom, sure you don't want to see the rest of the show?"_

_Later, the baby was toddling toward the motionless form of his parents. "Mommy?" he asked pitifully. "Daddy?"_

_They didn't respond. They were staring straight out in front of them with a terrified look on their faces. _

_The baby started crying. "Mommy! Daaadddy!" he cried out into the night. _

I came back to myself with a start. "Ginny?" Neville asked, looking at me in concern. "Are you all right?"

I looked at him. "Neville?" It came out as a whisper. "What happened to your parents?"

He gulped, and even in the moonlight, I could see that he'd gone pale. "Why d'you want to know?" he asked, turning away from me.

"Nevile…were they…attacked by the Death Eaters?"

He whirled around. "How'd you know that?" he demanded. "Dumbledore's the only one here…he'd never…"

"Neville, he didn't tell me. I swear." I assured him. "It's…I…er, that is to say…I have this rather odd…gift."

He was looking at me in bewilderment. "What d'you mean?"

I licked my lips. I'd never told anyone outside of my family about what I saw. If any of my brothers found out, they have a fit… "I see things. Visions, to be presice. And when your hand brushed mine, I saw…what happened that night…"

~*~*~*~

We were sitting on a bench. "I was two." Neville said slowly. "I don't really remember anything…the Aurors who came, my grandmother, and Dumbldore told me what happened. They came…because my dad was an Auror and they thought he'd have information about where You-Know-Who was. He didn't know, but they thought he was lying so they-" Neville's voice broke, "they…tortured him…but he still wouldn't give them information…so then, they tortured my mum…."

I felt tears pricking up in my eyes. "Neville…I…"

He looked at me, and I saw tears in his eyes. "They didn't die, but…they're insane," he said quietly. "I visit them during the holidays in St. Mungo's Hospital. They….they don't recognise me."

I sat there in horror. I'd never imagined….could never have dreamed….

He looked at me. "These…visions…d'you have them often?" He was changing the subject, but I let him. 

"They come and go. Sometimes they come as dreams, sometimes they're just flashes that come when I'm doing ordinary things….and sometimes…when I touch someone….I get get visions of their past….or future."

"Do…do they hurt?"

I shook my head. "No." I looked down. "You're the first person I've told that's outside of my family."

He looked at me. "Does…er, does Dumbledore know?"

I shook my head. "My family really doesn't want me to talk about it. You know, with some of the Death Eaters out there…"

He nodded. "I can see why." He was quiet for a second. "I won't tell anyone, Ginny. I swear."

I nodded. "I know. And I promise, Neville, I won't tell anyone what happened to your parents." 

He looked at me and smiled shakily. "I know. You're a really amazing girl, Ginny. Harry's doesn't know what he's missing."

I laughed. "I know that, but what can you do? He's totally immune to the charms of my bright red hair and enchanting freckles."

We both laughed. "You wanna go in?" Neville asked.

I nodded and stood up. "Sure. I want to see how many people Fred and Angelina have knocked down yet."


	3. Visitors At The Burrow

Author's note: I read a review (on another story that mentioned me) basically saying that this story was well-written but didn't have an original plot, seeing as how there are tons of Ginny-having-visions stories out there. I see their point, so hopefully this chapter will set this fic apart. 

"They're here!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. 

Ginny took one last glance out the window, then ran downstairs. Finally, after over two months of pleading, Professor Dumbledore had agreed to let Harry come to stay at the Burrow. Hermione was coming too, and since Ron was allowed to let two friends come over, Ginny had talked her parents into letting Neville stay over. 

Ginny walked outside and impulsively hugged Neville as he lugged his bags up the stairs. 

"Hey, Ginny," Neville said, then groaned. "Think you could help me with these bags?"

As she took a bag, Ginny teased, "You're only _visiting_, Neville, not _moving in_."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Neville shot back. Just then Ginny noticed the big, black, shaggy dog standing next to Harry and Hedwig's cage. 

"Who does that dog belong to?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Harry," Neville said, then mock-shuddered. "Looks like a Grim, doesn't it? But it's really friendly. You'd think it was almost human." 

Ginny cocked her head to an angle as she looked at the dog. "Something's rather-odd about that dog."

"You mean…" Neville said, then trailed off. 

Ginny sighed. "It's probably nothing," she muttered, then walked over to where everyone was congregating towards Harry, Hermione, and Ron. 

"What's his name?" George asked, then laughed. "Looks like he's taken a fancy to you, Ginny."

The dog had wandered over to Ginny, who knelt down and was ruffling its hair. 

Ginny felt…strange. That was the only way to put it. This dog-wasn't-didn't feel-well, _dog-like_. The dog mind was there, but there was something else…something more intelligent, more cynical, more…_human_ behind it. 

Then suddenly, a name popped into her head, and even without thinking about it, Ginny spoke the name out loud. 

"Padfoot."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione stared at her in shock, and the dog suddenly jerked away from her touch. "What did you say?" Harry demanded. 

Ginny looked up into his shocked emerald green eyes. She inwardly sighed. When was she ever going to learn how to act normal? Still…they'd all heard her, so what could she do?

"Padfoot," Ginny said a little more firmly. "Is that his name?"

Suddenly shy, she looked over to Hermione, who was staring at her with her mouth open. 

"Uh, no, it's Snuffles, actually," Harry said.

Ginny looked at him sharply. He was lying. She could feel it. But why, in the name of Godric Gryffindor, would he lie about _this_?

"_Snuffles?"_ Fred demanded incredulously, trying to dispel the tension. "Who came up with that? That's worse that Pigwidgeon!"

Everyone laughed and started to go inside, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to give her strange looks, and Snuffles was staying as far away from her as possible. 

Neville caught Ginny's arm as they were about to follow everyone inside. "Ginny, what was that all about?" he asked. 

Ginny sighed in bewilderment. "I don't know. I was petting the dog, and then-I could tell that something strange is going on with that dog-then that name, Padfoot, popped into my head and without thinking, I said it out loud."

Neville also sighed, but in exasperation. "Ginny, you've got to learn to keep your mouth shut when it comes to these things," he told her. "You saw how everyone stared. You're lucky Percy isn't here, or else he'd have a fit!"

"I know, I know, but, after-well, you know-I'm in this daze, almost. I need a few seconds to come out of it, but while I'm in that kind of shock, I'll just blurt out anything," Ginny groaned. "This day's going well. Harry must think I'm some sort of freak."

"He doesn't think you're a freak," Neville said soothingly. "Rather strange, yes, but a freak-"

Ginny swatted him. "Oh, thanks! Come on, let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*~

 Dinner was a very strange affair. For one thing, Ron, Hermione, and Harry kept giving her strange looks when they thought Ginny wasn't looking, which made Ginny very uncomfortable.

For another, Harry's dog wouldn't come near Ginny now. 

And for the third thing, Percy had heard about Ginny's slip, and was rather annoyed. To top it all off, Fred and George kept teasing him about Penelope. 

Finally Percy burst out, "You can stop now, because Penelope and I aren't seeing each other any more."

"Why?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. 

Percy shrugged. "We grew apart. People change, Mum. Just one of those things that happen."

Ginny picked at her food morosely. She knew the minute dinner was over, Percy would go upstairs and demand to know what she'd felt, and Ginny really wasn't in the mood for an interrogation. 

Fred shot a look at Harry's dog. "What's wrong with that dog? Seems almost scared of Ginny now."

Ginny shrugged with one shoulder. _Me and my big mouth_, she thought to herself glumly. 

As soon as possible, she left the dinner table and escaped to her room, shutting and locking the door behind her. 

She leaned against the door and sighed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In Ron's room, Snuffles changed into Sirius Black. Harry was sitting on his makeshift bed, Ron on his, Hermione was sitting cross-legged on the rug, and Sirius was leaning against the wall.

"All right, Ron. What _was_ that out there?" Sirius demanded. 

Ron shook his head. "I don't know! She does this all the bloody time!"

"Does what exactly?" Sirius pressed.

Ron sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "She knows things she shouldn't know. Like, right before they announce the score of a Quidditch match on the radio, she'll say the score. And it'll be the right one! She says stuff about what's going to happen to us, and it happens! This has been going on for years!"

"Years?" Harry repeated in shock. "Ever considered that maybe she's listening at doors or something?"

Hermione shook her head. "Ginny wouldn't do that," she said firmly. 

Ron agreed. "No, she wouldn't. And besides, I haven't told anyone about Sirius. Mum and Dad found out through Dumbledore, and they burned the letter right after reading it. There's no way Ginny could know. And besides, she didn't say _Sirius_. She said _Padfoot_."

Sirius sighed. "Have you ever considered that Ginny might be a Seer?"

Hermione snorted. "Professor Trelawney claims to be a Seer and she's nothing but a fraud."

"Agreed," Sirius said, " but maybe Ginny really is one. What do your parents think?"

Ron shrugged. "I don't really know," he admitted. "It's one of those things that you just don't talk about. I _do_ know that it bothers Mum."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door and they heard Ginny's voice on the other side of the door. "Ron? Hermione? Harry? Who's in there with you?"

Harry mouthed frantically at Sirius, _"Hide!"_

Sirius nodded and changed back into Padfoot/Snuffles right before Ginny walked in. 

"Who were you talking to?" Ginny demanded.

"What?" Ron asked with an attempt at an innocent look. 

Ginny rolled her eyes at Ron. "Who else was in here? I was walking by, and I heard Harry's voice, Ron's voice, and Hermione's voice. But I heard someone else's too. A man's voice."

"Ginny, you're imagining things," Harry said firmly. "D'you see anyone else in here?"

Ginny looked Harry right in the eye for a long moment, then shook her head. "Right. I'm imagining things. Sorry I bothered you. It's just been one of those days." Ginny smiled apologetically and left, closing the door behind them.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and Padfoot/Snuffles changed back into Sirius. 

"That was close." Harry muttered.

"Too close," Hermione warned. "Did you see her face? She knows something's up."

Sirius sighed. "The Ministry and the dementors of Azkaban are after me, I'm fighting against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and my number-one threat is a 13 year-old girl," he muttered. "_Unbelievable_."

"Maybe we should tell her," Hermione offered. 

Ron snorted. "Tell her what? Than we're harboring the convicted murderer Sirius Black in our house, but that he didn't do the crimes he was charged for, that it was really Scabbers, who was Peter Pettigrew in disguise. Come on, Hermione, d'you really think she'll believe that?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry jumped out of bed. "What the-"

And then he heard another scream. Ron and Sirius were both cursing and stumbling over their beds. 

Sirius quickly changed back into Padfoot/Snuffles, and all three of them rushed towards where the sound was coming from. 

Ron quickly cursed under his breath. "It's Ginny." 

The rest of the household was already there. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were trying to calm Ginny, who was sitting straight up in her bed and looking terrified, down. 

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Mr. Weasley asked. 

Ginny was breathing rapidly. "Nothing. Just a nightmare." But to Harry, she didn't seem to be telling the whole truth. 

"Are you all right?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly. 

Ginny looked at her parents and tried to smile. "It's nothing, really." She then faced her siblings Harry, Neville, and Hermione. "I'm fine. Honest. I'll just go back to sleep."

"What was it about, Ginny?" George asked. "You were screaming bloody murder."

"It's really not that big a deal," Ginny insisted. "I'm sorry I screamed the house down."

Percy took a step towards his sister, then stopped. "You're sure you're all right?"

"Do you need some milk?" Mrs. Weasley offered.

Ginny made a face. "Mum, I'm not five years old anymore. I'll be fine. Really. Everyone can go back to sleep now."

Everyone left, the twins grumbling as they walked out. Hermione crawled back into her bed. Only Neville remained, looking as if he wanted to talk to Ginny, but Ginny mouthed _'Later.'_  After he left, she sighed and then turned off the light. 

"Ginny?" Hermione asked in the darkness. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Hermione. In fact-" Ginny let out a yawn- "I think I'm already starting to feel sleepy."

"If you're sure," Hermione said. "Good-night, Ginny."

"Night, Hermione."

Hermione turned over, and in the dark, Ginny could hear her breathing become shallow and even. 

Ginny stared unseeingly at the ceiling. 

_When are these visions going to end?_


	4. A New Beginning

A/N: This is the final chapter of a Modern-Day Cassandra. When I wrote the first two chapters, I wasn't really sure of where I wanted to take this story, and I had no clue how to end it. Hopefully, this ending clears up any questions the readers might have. This chapter takes place about a week after Harry, Hermione, Neville and Sirius arrive at the Burrow.

_-there was darkness all around him…sanity a thin shimmering thread of light-_

_-the rat-_

_-Moony,Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs-_

_-not the dog, but the rat-_

_-the mirror…reversed images…everything seen backwards-_

_-the odd man out-_

_-didn't belong and never really would-_

_-tagalong-_

_-chance to be more powerful than possible-_

_-betrayal-_

_-you should have died…died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you-_

_-innocence lost-_

_-screaming and a high, cold voice laughing-_

Ginny opened her eyes slowly. Her mother's face was looking down at her, but why on earth was she and the room spinning around so much?

She groaned. Her head was pounding…

"Ginny?" Neville asked, now standing next to her mother. Everything had stopped spinning, for which she was thankful. She looked around and realised that her father, her brothers, Harry, Hermione, and the dog were all staring with looks of alarm and concern. 

Also that she happened to be on the kitchen floor. 

Ginny struggled to get to her feet, and her parents helped her up and led her to a chair. 

"What happened?" Ginny asked, rubbing her temples. 

"You-uh-you went into some kind of fit," Neville said softly. "And then you collasped on the floor-Gin?"

Ginny was staring at Snuffles, her eyes wide. 

"Padfoot," she whispered. 

"What?" George asked. "What was that?"

Ginny got to her feet and pointed at the dog, which shrank back against Harry. "I knew there was something strange about that dog from the beginning," she said. "And I was right."

Ron attempted to laugh it off. "Ginny, did you hit your head on that floor harder than we thought?" But he was white as a sheet, along with Harry, Hermione, and her parents.

Mrs. Weasley tugged at her daughter's arm. "Ginny, maybe we should talk about this in private-"

"No," Ginny said firmly. "No. There have been too many secrets here for too long. And I'm sick of it. We'll talk about it here. Now."

She got down to her knees so she was at eye-level with the dog. 

Everyone was silent. 

"You see, ever since Harry, Hermione-and the dog came here, the visions I've been having-they've made no sense. Until now, that is. Because I was having visions about a stag, a wolf, a rat, and a _huge black dog_- that weren't really animals at all. They were Animagi."

Ginny looked up at Harry. "Your dad was an Animagus, wasn't he?" she asked, confident of the answer.

Harry nodded, stunned. "Yeah," he said in a hoarse voice. "Back in his fifth year-took them three years to figure out how-"

"Them?" Percy questioned, his eyes alight. "Who else?"

"Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black," Ginny answered. 

"But-why?" Neville asked, bewildered. "Turning into an Animagus is difficult enough when you're a fully trained wizard, but when you're _fifteen_-and illegally? What on earth was the point?"

"They wanted to help Professor Lupin," Ginny explained. "Well, he wasn't a professor then, but-the four of them were friends back at Hogwarts. When they found out he was a werewolf-they wanted to keep him company during the full moon. They couldn't do it as humans, so they did it as animals. James Potter evidently was a genius at Tranfiguration-lucky thing too, otherwise I doubt it would have worked."

"Years later, when Voldemort-" everyone started at the use of the name, "-was at the height of his power, Harry's family had to go into hiding. Everyone thought Sirius Black was the Keeper-but that wasn't the case, was it?" Ginny asked, addressing Padfoot/Snuffles. "You used Pettigrew instead as a blind. But what you didn't know-what you couldn't know-was that Pettigrew had been working for Voldemort for over a year as a spy…"

The only sound was of the clock ticking. Everyone's attention was riveted on the small girl and the dog. 

"And he betrayed you all." Ginny's voice was soft. "When you found out, you went after him, wanting revenge-but he killed the Muggles, bit off his finger, and transformed into a rat…leaving you to take the blame and spend twelve years in Azkaban for a crime you didn't commit."

Her voice caught in her throat as without a word, Padfoot/Snuffles changed into Sirius Black. Ginny got to her feet. 

"Hullo, Mr. Black," she said, looking up at him. 

Sirius looked down at her in wonder. 

"So-so it's true, then?" Fred asked, disbelieving. 

Sirius nodded. "It's all true…although I'll be damned to try to understand how you figured it out."

 "This whole week-I've been having visions-and in every one, something's saying, 'the mirror…reversed images…not the dog, but the rat…' and when I looked over at you," Ginny looked up at Sirius and shrugged,  "-everything clicked."

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "So what the hell do we do now?"

Ginny looked over at his brother. "Owl Professor Dumbledore," she said coolly. "He'll want to talk to me about the visions-I'll probably have to join the Order-"

"Ginny," her mother began to protest, but she cut her off. 

"Mum, I have to," Ginny insisted. "You can't change who you are and what you're destined for-and this is my destiny. Besides, maybe Dumbledore can do something about the headaches and me blacking out."

Mrs. Weasley sighed, but made no further protests. Mr. Weasley came over and put his arm around his wife's shoulder. 

Ginny looked up and noticed Harry's gaze on her. He was looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time-

And she wasn't really sure why her stomach felt so unsettled all of a sudden. 

_Later,_ she told herself resolutely. _I can deal with all that later._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that evening, Professor Dumbledore showed up. 

"I got your owl," he said. His blue eyes looked keenly at Ginny. "Well, Miss Weasley, it's looks like we have quite a bit to talk about."

Ginny met his gaze squarely. "Yes, I suppose we do."

Fin


End file.
